Bosphorus boxing tournament: Zareen, Solanki secure bronze

Asian Championship bronze medallist Nikhat, who defeated world champions Paltceva Ekaterina of Russia and Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in her last two bouts, suffered a 0-5 loss to 2019 Worlds silver medallist Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey in the semi-final.

New Delhi: Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Gaurav Solanki (57kg) settled for bronze medals after going down in their respective semifinals at the Bosphorus boxing tournament in Istanbul.

Asian Championship bronze medallist Nikhat, who defeated world champions Paltceva Ekaterina of Russia and Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in her last two bouts, suffered a 0-5 loss to 2019 Worlds silver medallist Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey in the semi-final on Friday.

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The opening round had both the boxers playing the waiting game but the subsequent rounds saw them attack a lot in an intense bout. However, the home favourite landed more punches and secured a unanimous win.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Solanki, who notched up impressive wins in the previous rounds, lost 0-5 to Argentina's Nirco Cuello.

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The Indian fought hard and displayed his attacking prowess from the start but conceded clear punches in the dying minutes to lose and bow out of the tournament.

India ended their campaign with two bronze medals.